Highlights

E+E“Sword”

Last we heard from E+E, he was reinterpreting John Mayer’s mawkish “When You’re Dreaming with a Broken Heart” with an anonymous female vocalist to stunning effect. This time around, E+E, a.k.a. Elijah Paul Crampton, takes on Drake’s “Take Care,” highlighting Rihanna’s vocal contribution through a soulful rendition from the same singer (and, luckily, with Drake’s part nowhere to be found). Piano remains the primary harmonic fomenter, but it’s much more impressionistic and meandering here, transforming a tepid, cheesy club track about a couple’s post-breakup dedication into a dramatic yet delicate song washed over with crushing thuds and warm ambient noise. E+E’s notorious juxtapositions are still here, but it’s appropriately subtle this time around. Check out “Sword” here:

Goldleaf Acrobatics

I have just spent the last several hours listening to this tape, approximately 86 times in a row, and I’ve decided that Holly Waxwing represents where we need to be heading with instrumental hip-hop. Wherever that is or was, whatever IT means in what I just typed: I’m not sure I can be very much more specific. All I know is that “Silktails for Isabel” is exactly where I want to be, and whoever the hell this Isabel person (being?) is must be the happiest, most in-love entity on the face of this or any other planet. Eyes closed seems to be the best way to go for Goldleaf Acrobatics. Sway alongside the succulence, let the warm breezes bring you to your knees, the tempo shifts, the flighty vocal samples, the jazzy inflections and light twinkle carrying you away to some beach resort on an alien world, a honeymoon among the stars.

With the album’s relaxed disposition, soft complexion, and playful bounce, it’s no wonder you can find more Holly Waxwing with like-minded others, including Bonglestar Galactabong on BOY FROOT-curated and -mixed Terrordome compilations, although this album from Garrett Crosby’s musical guise, what appears to be the first official Holly Waxwing release, is out on his own freshly minted cassette press, Noumenal Loom. Stream his newest album Goldleaf Acrobatics below or grip that new cassette ASAP:

“Relapse Sampler 2013”

With the release of their hefty 26-track sampler, the kind folks at grand poo-bah metal label Relapse Records have established themselves, yet again, as the good-guy Gregs of heavy music. Featuring the likes of Baroness, Toxic Holocaust [Editor’s note: WHAAAAAT? YES!!!!], Windhand, Black Tusk… among many others, the ~FREE~ sampler presents listeners with a healthy variety of subgenera. From the snarling stoner rock of Red Fang to the hulking atmospheric soundscapes of Inter Arma, there’s something for everyone — unless you’re an a cappella fan, in which case I’d have to suggest you hit up YouTube instead. C’mon guys, you’ve got more than two hours of riffs from two dozen bands. So dim the lights, break out the pumpkin ale, and enjoy getting in touch with your aggro side.

“OVERDRESSED IN UNDERWEAR”

Pretend everything is going well and it will. If manifest destiny just always happened the way you wanted it to, we’d never have a meaning to put behind the phrase. Let’s get with it and follow Giving Up as they’re rarely “OVERDRESSED IN UNDERWEAR.” Smoke out nostrils always. Fleeting drawings of this and colors. Mirages are for the dreamers. Begin the adventure. And animations, edits, and directions by Mikie Poland forever. Pre-orders out the ears. Doin’ splits with Saralee (Boston two-piece music machine). Sophomore Lounge surpasses tons of student AND musician hierarchy. Cute bits licking your ears in flashes of popped-out tents made of luau button-up shirts surrounded in a cloud of pink. Giving Up ARE playing real instruments in this video for “OVERDRESSED IN UNDERWEAR.” You’re just imagining them wearing clothes. But why? That curly hair (!!!!) and Adam’s apple. Basically, if you want to scope ‘em IRL, and see if they really DO only wear undies, you’ll have to catch em on tour. Tour dates below (not to grip on News swaggery):

“Kirjastossa”

Here’s a recording of Jan Anderzen (who also chomps in Kemialliset Ystävät) unveiling some technicolor magic at the ever-welcoming KYMPPIKLUBIKIRJASTO in Helsinki. In just three minutes, this performance reveals Jan’s entrenched penchants for creepy cartoon music and dysfunctional marching bands, and as user ItCue astutely points out, it sounds positively “magnetic” at 2:35.

“Watermelon” feat. Open Mike Eagle

A couple months back, I had the privilege of seeing Open Mike Eagle headline a show at Hell Gate Social that also featured Armand Hammer on the bill. As it was one of those gigs where the audience shares the stage with the artists, I was able to stand front and center while Mike performed and – during one lull between songs – say at regular speaking volume: “Free thinkers,” referring to “5ree Thinkers” off the Rent Party Extension EP.

Mike replied, “That sounds like a request,” and kindly obliged. After the song was finished, I said thanks, to which he said, “Thank you, it was a good request.”

The point of this cool-story-bro is this: OME is a good guy, and “5ree Thinkers,” an incredible little ditty that includes the undeniable lines, “Weightless as the keys on the Casio/ All the secrets in the world were explained in that Dinosaurs episode called ‘The War on Pistachios’” is easily my favorite song of his. It was also his only Hot Sugar-produced jam… until a few days ago, that is!

Streaming below, the two’s new collaboration “Watermelon” hit the net 10/1 as 1/10 of Hot Sugar’s Man Made EP. This tune includes the lines “Make P.E. instructors show the figure four/ and English professors teach Cappa’s verse on ‘Winter Warz’” — further evidence that Hot Sugar’s beats bring out OME’s best in terms of philosophical breakthroughs delivered via obscure cultural references. Basically, the world needs these two to do an album together.